First customers are key to EV sales success, execs say

Word of mouth is a key element to generating buyers for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Today, it's the early adapters, tech-savvy buyers who are embracing the technology and buying the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt and the battery-powered Nissan Leaf. But for these vehicles and similar models to go mainstream, anxiety about the technology needs to be eliminated.

Win a VIP trip to the 2011 Goodwood Revival

CAR has teamed up with Johnnie Walker whiskey to give one reader a dream ticket to the Goodwood Revival - with accommodation and weekend passes for two, and a money-can't-buy lap of the Goodwood track. Click here to enter this amazing Goodwood competition. You and a guest will enjoy a memorable trip to the Goodwood Revival over the weekend of 17-18 September 2011.

Ford Figo – Cool for India

The Ford Figo - made in India For has spent a few bob – around £300 million – expanding its car making facilities in India at Chennai to make the plant capable of producing 200,000 cars a year which, as Alan Mullaly, Ford’s CEO said, does show how serious Ford are about the Indian market. The Figo – which is apparently colloquial Italian for ‘Cool’ – shares Ford’s small car platform, which means that under the skin it’s a Fiesta. It looks like a Ford too, with the usual ford ‘Kinetic’ design cues written all over it.